


Meetings

by geethr75



Series: Meetings [2]
Category: Mahabharata - Vyasa
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-10-04
Packaged: 2018-04-18 07:58:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4698296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geethr75/pseuds/geethr75
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Series of Meetings that might have changed his life</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting Two

"Radheya," a voice whispered in his ear; someone's breath fanned his cheeks. Someone nibbled his earlobe.  
"Vasusena" A hand skimmed his body with a touch as light as a feather.  
He woke, feeling disoriented, and as the last vestiges of sleep cleared, he sighed softly.  
A dream after all.  
His hand touched his ear. It still tingled from a familiar voice and touch.  
He lay down, closed his eyes.  
Someone leaned over him, dark face flushed in passion.  
"Radheya..."  
Butterfly kisses down his neck, his collar bone, his chest, a nip here and there and a mouth moving lower...  
"Vasusena..."  
He opened his eyes and thought he could see the flash of a yellow robe just beyond the corner of his eyes.  
He sighed and turned on to one side, closing his eyes in a vain attempt to recapture sleep. The night was still young and more than six hours remained for sunrise.  
He was drained by all that had happened and wished to sleep.  
He did not know when it was he slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.  
He woke groggy and disoriented, wondering what it was that woke him. A warm body pressed against his from behind and he stiffened.  
"Relax," murmured the drowsy voice of someone whose dreams filled his nights.  
He relaxed allowing himself to be pulled into the circle of his arms.  
The steady breathing of Krishna lulled him back to sleep. But it was to be a short-lived sleep. He was woken by lips brushing against the nape of his neck, a nip at his shoulder and earlobe.  
He turned around to see a wide awake Krishna grinning mischievously. He was almost nose to nose with him.  
"You seem determined not to let me sleep."  
"Do you need sleep that badly?"  
"That's beside the point." He paused. "What are you doing here anyway?"  
"I heard you dreaming of me," said Krishna with a perfectly straight face.  
Vasusena blushed in spite of himself. "Even my dreams are not private?"  
Krishna seemed to ponder over it. "Since they were about me, I consider them as much mine as yours."  
"That's a nice logic!" He frowned. "But what were you doing?"  
"What did it look like I was doing?"  
Vasusena considered for a moment. "It looked like you were attempting to seduce me."  
"I was trying to make your dream come true and for that I am called a seducer?" Krishna said in an injured tone.  
Vasusena lifted an eyebrow in amused question but made no answer.  
"So," Krishna murmured. "Was I succeeding?"  
Vasusena laughed softly. "Not satisfied with all the conquests you made?"  
Krishna shook his head. "I do not make conquests. It is I who is the conquered one."  
Vasusena sighed. "I hardly think that is true in my case."  
"Yes, you are right. But I can still try."  
"And what difference does it make?" Asked Vasusena, his voice quiet. "My loyalty is still with Suyodhana and yours with his cousins."  
"They are my cousins too," replied Krishna. "And you do not believe that this peace between the cousins is permanent?"  
"Do you?"  
"No," Krishna agreed. "It is a volcano waiting to erupt."  
"And when it does, we'll be on opposite sides. Nothing in this world can change that."  
Krishna's expression was inscrutable, though the smile still lingered.  
"What happened today at the Rajasuya was only a prelude of things to come, isn't it?" Asked Vasusena.  
"That action was mine," reminded Krishna.  
"You are their dearest friend and staunchest ally. Your actions at this yajna will reflect more on them than on you."  
"You mean your friend will judge them based on my actions." There was an edge to Krishna's tone.  
Vasusena rose and walked to the window. He stood gazing out into the night. The night was velvety dark, with pale moonlight turning the landscape colourless.  
"Suyodhana is only human." Said he finally. "And you can't fault him for judging his enemies."  
"And does that mean you should always encourage in his enmity and his scheming against them?"  
"As his friend," said Vasusena stiffly, "his happiness is important to me. And it is my duty to help him against his enemies."  
Krishna snorted as he too rose and went to stand near Vasusena. "Your duty," said he, his tone intense, "is to direct him to the right path."  
"And what is the right path?" Asked Vasusena, not turning. "One man's path may seem right to some and wrong to someone else. And every man walks the path they feel to be right. And to enemies, all paths walked by enemy may seem wrong."  
"How nice to be able to find justifications for everything!" Krishna's voice was sarcastic. "But not all paths are right. Some can lead to destruction too."  
Vasusena shrugged. "Nothing can be certain. And whatever path he walks, I will walk it with him."  
"Admirable loyalty," Krishna's voice was dry.  
"You think you are the only one capable of loyalty?" Vasusena asked, an edge to his voice.  
Krishna stared at him for one long moment and then strode to the door. He turned at the door. "Not everything is about loyalty." Said he, his voice even. "There's a thing called right too. And no matter how much you justify yourself, the day will come when your friend will reach the point of no return. And on that day, do not forget your own culpability!"  
He opened the door and went out, slamming it behind him. The slam echoed in the still night.


	2. Meeting Three

Vasusena looked up in resignation at the man who stormed into the room. He had been expecting this visit. He had been expecting it for quite some time, he realized now. It was their first meeting since the Rajasuya ended and he could see that Krishna looked just the same as ever. Except for the stormy look in his eyes and the unsmiling lips. The same could not be said of him, thought he. He probably looked awful. He was beginning to understand what Krishna meant when he talked of culpability and point of no return.  
To see Krishna in Anga was not much of a surprise. He was only thankful that his family was not there, but in Hastinapura. He wondered how Krishna knew that. But then, thought he, he might have been waiting for such an event to pounce on him. His visit certainly was overdue. He gazed at Krishna, but he could not meet his eyes. What had happened to Vasusena that, for the first time, he was ashamed of meeting someone’s eyes?   
Some of his thoughts must have been evident in his eyes, for the stormy look in Krishna’s face softened a fraction. It was all but imperceptible to any that did not know him. And Vasusena was not looking into his eyes. But he saw the fractional relaxation of Krishna’s features. He did not know if he was relieved or disappointed.  
He sat immobile, not rising or speaking. Krishna took a chair opposite to him. “I hope you are feeling happy and proud.” There was a sting in his words.  
Vasusena flinched at the tone and his lips tightened in anger, but he made no reply.  
“Well, Vasusena?” Krishna’s voice was dangerously quiet.  
“If you are done with being angry and insulting,” said Vasusena. He was being deliberately rude. He did not want to face this man. No matter how expected this visit was, it was not a welcome one. And Krishna really had no right to censure him over anything.  
“Angry and insulting?” asked Krishna. “You mean, as in ‘she has five husbands, so she’s a whore, let us strip her’ kind of insult?”  
Vasusena clenched his lips tightly together. Krishna was a guest, unwelcome and uninvited though he might be. He looked down at his hands and were surprised to see them clenched into fists.  
“I don’t see what right you have to judge me.” He said finally. “You never spoke up for me when I was insulted by her and her husbands. Suyodhana was the only one who stood up for me!”  
“And you show your gratitude and loyalty by insulting a woman!”  
“To me, she is no woman.” His tone was steely. “She is as much my enemy as her husbands.”  
“You may keep justifying your actions till the end. But the fact remains that you have done an act not befitting a Kshatriya!”  
“But I am no Kshatriya! I am only a Suta, as she was so kind enough to remind everyone at her Swayamvara. But I suppose it doesn’t really matter to you. You think it was any less painful for me?”  
“Pain?” Krishna’s tone was contemptuous. “If it was painful, you would never have allowed another human being to go through that kind of experience!”  
He was silent, not knowing what to say. He was feeling very much ill-used. Did Krishna think he did not regret? But he was not going to admit it. And he was not going to answer Krishna either. What use was it anyway?   
Krishna was not yet finished. “And not satisfied with sending them on exile, you had to go there to gloat on flimsy pretexts! You hoped to see them wallow in their misery, didn’t you? You hoped to revel in that! And what happened to your grand plan, Vasusena? How did it end for you and Suyodhana?”  
“You know exactly what happened!” snapped Vasusena, stung by the taunt. “And I have no doubt you are extremely pleased!”  
“Of course I am! The kind of conceit and arrogance you two have deserves nothing else! And nothing less!”  
“Will you please leave?” asked Vasusena, white from fury. “I do not have to listen to your insults.”  
“I’m not leaving.” Said Krishna. “Till I have finished saying what I have come to say!”  
“Fine,” said Vasusena, rising. “Then I’ll leave. Because I really don’t want to listen to anything you might have to say.”  
He turned to leave. There was the sound of a chair scraping the floor and before he realized what was happening, he was pinned to the wall, a vicelike grip on his arms and the furious face of Krishna in front of him.  
“Do not test my patience!” Krishna grated out.  
Vasusena was a strong man. But he found he could not free himself. “Why did you need Bheema? You could have killed Jarasandha yourself,” said he, struck by the thought.  
Krishna glared at him. “It was not his destiny to die by my hand,” said he.  
Vasusena sighed. He stopped struggling. How can one struggle against this man? If he was even a man. Which he was beginning to doubt. The words Bhishma spoke during the Rajasuya about Krishna might well be true, thought he. He was suddenly mortified by the desire he felt for this man. By the love he still held. He hung his head with a sigh.  
“Say what you have to,” said he, his voice weary. “And then go. Unless you are planning to kill me yourself!”  
Krishna’s grip on his arms relaxed and almost involuntarily Vasusena’s hands came up to hold Krishna’s elbows in a loose grip. Vasusena raised his face and saw that there was no longer anger in Krishna’s face. Krishna leaned forward and his forehead touched Vasusena’s.  
They stood like that, neither uttering a word. Vasusena had no idea how long they stood that way. It seemed like an eternity.  
It was Krishna who broke the silence. “I have promised her justice,” said he. “Do you know what that means?”  
Vasusena nodded. “You will avenge her. You will make sure all who insulted her would die. You will see that her husbands keep their oaths.”  
They stood there, without moving for one moment more. Then Vasusena pulled Krishna into his arms in a fierce hug. Krishna returned the hug with equal fervour. Vasusena kissed Krishna on the temple. “Goodbye,” said he.  
They looked into each other’s eyes for another moment. Then Krishna turned around and walked out.  
Vasusena sank down on to his chair and buried his face in his hands.


End file.
